Spira Beyond: The Besaid Story
by Frankopan
Summary: In the 18th year of the Eternal Calm, two boys, adventurous at heart, spend their days in a small, but growing island of Besaid. But Besaid hides more secrets than meets the eye. What lies in it's ancient machina past? Well, find out with our two heroes!
1. Prologue

„Ga...Aaaah!"

As every day in the last 2 years, yet another peaceful Besaid afternoon is ruined by an ear-shattering shriek echoing from a clumsy, but agile red headed fellow. As he rushes through the beach path, under one of it's heavy and loud waterfalls, his long hair, now partly soaked, covered his eyes, enabling him to make a staggering slip which, along with messing up his groove almost made him fall off the edge. Yet, he runs as if he's possessed, firmly grasping his loaf of bread as if it were the last thing he would ever eat. Why is our hero so desperately enriched in his ungraceful quickening? Well, why don't we ask the dingos chasing the poor lad? That is, if they were something other than fiends. But, even though this rustle and bustle created quite a ruckuss along the way, the condors are almost non-flinching, as if used to the daily cat-mouse game these two share in their timely routine. The flans, long gone and extinct, have little to say on the subject, while the garudas are soundly sleeping on their hilltops.

The boy suddenly sees the end of this long road, the fork he hoped to see. „The beach can't be far now!" But he had to take his dingo problem under close consideration. He quickly jumps on down from a small ledge, turns to his right and closes in on the mystery door in the wild, locked by a machina. The boy quickly taps in the 4 digit code which by now he knows by heart, quickly slips in behind just as the dingos came into view again. Like every day he managed to conceal himself in this dark cave. Like every day, the dingos gave up fairly quickly. And like every day, the loaf of bread he carried got wet from the cave's dripping waters. „Oh, he's gonna kill me again..." But, having come this far, it makes no sense for him to risk another dingo encounter just to get another loaf from the village. No, he bravely steps out of the cave, proudly raises his square shaped head and aligns his simple cotton clothes to perfection. He is now ready.

Stepping on the yellow sand he takes a look around. The ship docked on the small wooden port is just leaving, meaning he is not late for the arriving one from Kilika. But then he faces completely onwards, towards a small uplift towering above wooden boats and other sailing material. As he takes his first steps, a thought comes to his mind: „So, this is how the old summoners felt before facing Sin." As he reaches the uplift, he climbs it, steadily, without a problem. There waiting him, a lad one year younger than he is. Through his spikey brown hair he pierced our brave hero with his blue eyes simply stating: „You're late, V." The boy flinched a bit, thinking „could THAT have been the ship we were waiting for?"

„I am sorry bud, the dingos again." – responded the red head boy.

„Oh well..." –suddenly smiled the brown haired boy, laying the stylish red sword he was leaning on seconds ago to the side. „ I guess the bread is wet too?"

„Guilty as charged." – the read headed boy frowned. The other one made a benevolent sigh.

„It's too bad though... Aunt Lu's heavenly bread soaked in cave water. Well, in any case, you're just in time. The ship will be arriving in moments."

„But... Didn't you just say...?"

„I was pulling your leg man, take it easy."

The red haired boy frowned again. „You're cruel Jecht. I thought you would make me swim my butt off again. If the Aurochs crossed as much as sea as me they would be champs again in a second."

„First of all," said Jecht lifting his index finger, „ I can not understand how the hell you are older than me. Second of all," raising the second finger, „ I thought you wanted to follow your dads footsteps?"

The boy looks away. „Well, yeah... I did. But seeing how much work it takes I don't think I'm cut out for it, ya? And don't you be giving me lessons about age. I am not the one bossing his best friend with an age old sword."

„Oh just shaddup. You remember why we're here, right?" The boy suddenly snaps back to his calm self. „There's bound to be a few girls from Luca around. Phew, Yevon sure blessed those I imagine. Damn them curves."

„Yeah..." –said the read head with a dreamy look.

And so Jecht and Vidina spent yet another dull, boring yet enjoyable day on Besaid, gazing at people from afar, wondering when they will be old enough to visit the places they only heard about.

Continued...


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

„So," said Jecht eating his fruit, „heard anything about today?" Vidina seemed distant. „V!" As he snapped out of the daydream he looked at Jecht with discontent.

„I'm still not talking to you, ya?"

Jecht frowned. „Come ON man, you're not gonna get me for that again are you? You failed, so what? A lot of fish in the sea." As he was saying this he leaned back on the ancient pillar. Compared to the usual days, the beach is seeing a lot of people coming and going as they check on things seemingly worried. Only one older bearded man was in the water, called Darien in the village, dillgently fishing even though his luck isn't the best. Vidina turned his head from Jecht once again.

„No, I didn't hear anything. I was too busy risking my life bringing bread to my _best friend_ who is intent in embarrassing me in front of every girl we meet. The one from Luca yesterday, ya, might have been one of the most beautiful ones I've ever seen and you ruin it, like always!" Vidina punched the ground as he said the last sentence almost with a hint of despair.

Jecht closed his eyes and bit his fruit again. „It wasn't that bad."

Vidina stood up. „Wa... wasn't that bad? When you said 'the man has an eye for blitzballs,' that does _not, _wouldn't you guess,mean 'he is a great goalie!' The way she looked at me... Gah!" He shook in discontent. „Those eyes pierced me, screeeaaming 'what a perverted, soulless ginger.'"

Silence enveloped the two as some people on the beach talked amongst themselves, seemingly impatient. A slight humming sound from the distance could also be heard as well as the sound of stepping through the water marking the end of Darien's fishing day, earlier than expected. Vidina sat down again facing the dock.

„Okay man, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I won't talk again in front of chicks. Happy? Can we please let this go now?" Vidina didn't seem to react to Jechts attempt. Jecht let out a sigh and proceeded to throw the fruit remains at the sea. „Besides," he said while leaning back again, „the bread was wet yet again. It's a good thing you gave it to Darien. I bet the fish were getting the kick out of it." Said Jecht trying to ease the situation.

„Whatever, ya?" Vidina was adamant at being down and Jecht was adamant about not caring. So, it seemed the silence fest would last for a while until a blitzball landed in the middle of them. Vidina grabbed the ball looking for the one who threw it. The beach didn't let off anyone who seems interested.

„V! At the sea, it's Zeta," said Jecht. Vidina looked around and spotted a slightly tanned figure swimming. „I don't remember him being there, must have been swimming around the island. Throw it back at him."

As Vidina prepared to thrust the ball he noticed one of the men on the beach calling Zeta to come out or get out of the way. „Out of the way for what?" Vidina seemed confused.

„That's what I mean," said Jecht. „There hasn't been a single ship all day. Something is brewing."

„Wait," said Vidina raising his hand. „Do you hear that?" The humming sound from before got louder.

„Yeah," said Jecht. „It seems to be coming from... above?" Both of them raised their heads and spotted an increasingly bigger red dot in the air, coming their way at high speed. The more it came closer the more the humming sound turned to a roar. The people at the beach split up leaving some big chunk of space open. What happened next was fast. It seemed that the big object would hit the sea in the distance only to straighten it's path in the last second, turning at the beach. The amount of water it raised was while approaching was monstrous. And just as Vidina and Jecht jumped to the ground, thinking it would hit them all for sure, it suddenly began to stop as the roar lowered it's pitch. It stopped just at sea's end, soaking some folks with the rest of the wave it carried. Oh, the thing was huge, no doubt about it, and strangely shaped, almost like an insect or a crab, completely red. At the end of it's forward „legs" rested two, what appeared to be, huge wheels while it's front was painted in black and yellow with a bird of some kind.

„It's... It's an airship man!" Vidina said in awe while lying on the ground.

„Not just any ship man. This is the Celsius! I haven't seen it since I was a kid, at least not live. So this explains why there were no ships today," said Jecht, in a less amazed, more intrigued way. The people on the beach seemed very anxious, not really happy. „Now, who could be paying us a visit?"

Seemingly answering Jecht's question, the hatch on the ship's deck opened with masked people coming out, carrying strange howering platforms. „Of course," said Jecht, „count on the Al-Bhed to have this kind of stuff." Then a woman, with a slightly longer, gray hair proceeded to come out and turned around towards the hatch.

„Hey Jecht! Recognize that woman?" Vidina asked him excitedly.

„No," Jecht said blandly, as if focusing on something else.

„Come on! Of course you do, it's..." Vidina was interupted by Jecht shoving his head to the ground in order to see better.

„More importantly," Jecht started, „that's Gippal over there." A blonde man in lush clothes stepped out on the deck. He waved his hand as if commanding someone. All of the dozen or so people on the deck stood on their platforms and began their descent to the beach. Out of the crowd of villagers out came a very tanned, blonde man, standing in front of the place where all the people landed. „Jassu is our representative, covering for your dad it seems." As if in a rush, Gippal pointed at the way out of the beach and proceeded there along with all of the people. „Th... that's it?" Jecht seemed dissapointed. „All that show and they just leave? Talk about underwhelming." Jecht sat in silence for a moment. „But, why would the leader of SIRIAM come here?"

„Nghhdnnndngnn," a sound echoed below Jecht. He was pressing Vidina's head in the ground all of this time. As he pulled his hand up Vidina breathed in deeply and then said: „Well, remind me if I'm wrong, but SIRIAM stands for Spira's Institute for Research and... wait, how does it go again?"

„Spira's Institute for Research and Investigation of Ancient Machina, abreviation, SIRIAM. Which is really, really interesting. I thought those guys were digging some stu... Oh sweet holy Meachen!" Jecht stood up as if electrified. „That's it!"

„What's it?" Vidina tilted his head.

„Think about it V! If SIRIAM is in the business of excavating, researching and creating new machina, what would their purpose be here?"

„Uh..." Vidina waited for a moment. „To find some machina?"

„More than that! They're here to find something huge, it must be. If it wasn't, the head honcho wouldn't come here. At least that's the general idea I get from the broadcast spheres, Gippal doesn't jump into action that much on his own. The last time he did, they found, guess what, two airships! Both the Geiger and the Tesla!" Jecht seemed exctatic. „Now, you may not remember this but at one time I asked your dad if anyone ever really investigated the higher parts of the island, he said no."

„Well of course not, it's too dangerous, ya?" Vidina stood up as well. „ I don't know anyone stupid enough to go up messing around near the Garudas."

„Exactly!" Jecht slapped his shoulder. „Which means something big could be up there," he said running to the edge of the uplift pointing at the hills.

„Well, we'll see, won't we?" Vidina asked.

„Oh yes V! We sure will. Right now." Jecht grinned heavily.

„What?" Vidina seemed shocked.

„That's right. We are going up there to find things first!"


End file.
